"When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the
star, which they saw
in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child
was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his
mother,
and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

Epiphany a gift that is wrapped in varying meanings

While the Magi are central for Western churches, Jesus'
baptism is the focus among the Eastern Orthodox.

By K. Connie Kang, Times Staff Writer
January 6, 2007

In the Western branch of Christianity
generally, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the three wise men from the
East, who, "following yonder star," as a hymn says, traversed afar to see baby
Jesus and to show their adoration with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In some Spanish-speaking countries, Jan. 6 is known as El Dia de los Reyes, or
the Day of the Kings.

But in the Eastern Church — composed of about 300 million Orthodox Christians
worldwide — Epiphany takes on a more complex theological meaning. The focal
point is the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and the appearance of the
Holy Spirit.

"Epiphany means the manifestation of the Trinity," said the Very Rev. Father
Michel Najim, dean of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral in
Los Angeles. Indeed, like many Orthodox, Najim prefers to refer to Epiphany,
which means "revelation," as Theophany, which translates as "manifestation of
God."

He emphasized that at Jesus' baptism, the three persons in the Christian
conception of God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit —were revealed. The Bible says
that when Jesus came up from the water after being baptized by John the
Baptist, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and
alighted on Jesus. When this happened, a voice said, "This is my Son, the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Another view of Epiphany is found among Armenian Orthodox Christians. Jan. 6
is the occasion celebrating Jesus' birth, his baptism and the adoration of the
Christ child by the Magi.

Thus, they alone continue an ancient tradition of marking all three events
Jan. 6 — also known as the "Armenian Christmas."

Today, in a display of ecumenism, a Roman Catholic priest will deliver a
homily at the 11 a.m. service at the Armenian Church Western Diocese of North
America in Burbank.

"It shows that ecumenical relations are alive and well in Los Angeles," said
the Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, head of interreligious and ecumenical affairs for
the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

"I am sure Christ is pleased. He prayed at the Last Supper that all his
followers might be one," Smith said.

The celebration of the Armenian Christmas by the Julian calendar — as opposed
to the standard Western, or Gregorian, calendar — represents more than 16
centuries of a difference between the Armenian Church and most other churches
over when to observe the birth of Jesus.

And for some Orthodox churches, including the Russian Orthodox, Christmas is
celebrated Jan. 7.

Father John Bakas, dean of St. Sophia Cathedral, a Greek Orthodox church in
Los Angeles, says the difference in the dates is not an issue.

"The most important thing is the reason for the day," he said. "The reason is
Christ in our midst — revelation of Jesus Christ as our Savior. That's the
key."

One view of how Jan. 6 came to be Epiphany comes from Father John Roll, priest
in charge of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Long Beach.

The celebration of Epiphany can be traced to Gnosticism, an ancient religious
movement that stressed salvation by knowledge, he said in an e-mail response
to a query.

"The 6th of January was designated as the feast day of Epiphany, because on
that day was the birthday of Aeon, the patron god of Alexandria," according to
Roll.

"The Gnostics had designated Christ as one of the Aeons in their elaborate
[religious] system. In opposition to these heretics, it appears that the
Orthodox Church acted to protect its followers from this falsification by
defining the Theophany of the Holy Trinity, that is, the appearance of God
during the baptism of Christ," Roll said.

Appropriately for a day that centers on baptism, water plays a key role in
some ceremonies observed by Orthodox churches.

"Our tradition is that starting with Epiphany, the priests go to each
parishioner's house and bless their home with the sanctified water consecrated
during Epiphany," said Charles Ajalat, a member of St. Nicholas Cathedral. "We
also bless many material things, such as a new car, with holy water, because
Christ has redeemed the entire material world."

During their annual home visitation, a clergyman "reconsecrates"
all the rooms in the house with an ornate gold-plated sprinkler.

"People enjoy it, because every year they have a chance to have their homes
and themselves to be blessed," said Najim, a Lebanese-born theologian who has
served at St. Nicholas for two decades.

The blessing of homes begins this afternoon, but because his congregation is
large — 1,500 families scattered across the region — the visitation process
will continue throughout the year, he said.

Parishioners who live too far away to make a priestly visit practical will
take home a small bottle of holy water so they can sprinkle their homes
themselves, he said.

Najim, an expert in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, said the blessing of
the home is a practice Christ himself instituted when he visited the home of
tax collector Zacchaeus, a short man who climbed up a sycamore tree to get a
glimpse of Jesus when Christ was passing through Jericho.

Orthodox hymns of the feast include one that says, in part:

"Lord, when you were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was
made manifest. For the voice of the Father gave witness to you, calling you
beloved; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of his
words. Glory to you, Christ our God, who appeared and enlightened the world."

Another tradition on Epiphany is tossing a cross into a body of water — river,
lake or sea — and retrieving it.

In Long Beach today, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church will continue the
tradition.

Hundreds of parishioners will gather at Mother's Beach, where Metropolitan
Gerasimos, presiding hierarch of the Metropolis of San Francisco, will throw a
cross into the sea.

Teenage volunteers will dive to retrieve the cross and take it to Gerasimos,
whose title is roughly equivalent to that of a bishop in the Western church.

"The divers are representatives of humanity and its struggle for salvation,"
Roll said. "The act of retrieving the cross is illustration that salvation can
be attained through the grace of God and man's struggles and desires to be
reunited with him. Attaining the cross and giving it back to the hierarch who
threw it shows that everything comes from God and is returned to him."

By Earl Vaughan Jr., Staff writer

There was a time when Epiphany, which will be
observed in Christian churches this weekend, was a bigger event than Christmas.
In fact, history records that it was Epiphany, and not Christmas, that the early
church celebrated.

Today, liturgical churches such as the Roman
Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran put more emphasis on Epiphany than other
Christian denominations.

“We celebrate it because it’s the end of the
12 days of Christmas,’’ said Pastor Louise Hilbert of Fayetteville’s St. James
Lutheran Church. Hilbert said the season of Epiphany stretches from early
January until Ash Wednesday and Lent.

The actual day of Epiphany is Saturday. Jan. 6
traditionally marks the date when the Magi, or wise men, visited the newborn
Jesus.

The Rev. Louanne Loch of St. John’s Episcopal
Church said the visit of the Magi is not the only thing celebrated during the
season of Epiphany. Other events include the baptism of Jesus and his first
miracle at the wedding in Cana, when he turned water into wine.

“Miracles are an epiphany that Jesus is the
son of God,’’ she said.

At St. Patrick Catholic Church, Father David
Brockman said the observance of Epiphany includes a blessing of the home that is
connected with the visit of the Magi.

A prayer is read, and the doors to the home
are marked with chalk as follows:

20+C+M+B+07.

The numbers refer to the year. The letters
refer to the traditional names of the three Magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
In other traditions, Brockman said, it’s an abbreviation of a Latin phrase that
is translated “Christ bless the house.”

For Brockman, another important part of
Epiphany is the Bible story about the Magi’s visit as recorded in Matthew
2:1-12, especially the final verse.

It instructs them not to return to King Herod,
as he had requested, but to travel home by another route.

“I’ve always taken that as symbolic for the
fact that once you have come to Christ, your life takes an entirely new
direction,’’ he said. “You don’t go back the same way.’’

I know that there were
many members of the Class of 1964 who were unable to attend the 40th Year
Reunion in 2004 and who did not receive a copy of the Old Rustier Anchor
(2004). I suspect that there are members of the classes which preceded and
followed the Class of 1964, who may be curious about the lives of their
friends. For those who may not know, The Old Rustier Anchor is the compilation
of photos and remarks by members of the Class of 1964. A version has been
published at every reunion (1974, 1984, 1994, 1999, and 2004.)

I am pleased to offer (at no charge) the Microsoft WORD version of the Old
Rustier Anchor (2004) to anyone who requests it. This is the Master file from
which the printer created the booklets we distributed at the 2004 reunion.

It is a 24 page, 9 MB file (due to images) which I would attach to an e-mail.
If anyone is interested, simply send an e-mail to <nnhs64@cox.net>.
Please let me know if you are unable to receive large attached files due to spam
filters, etc., and I will make other arrangements.

What a wonderful opportunity you've provided for everyone, David!
Thank you so much!

So that no one
will miss it, I'll carry this offer in the next several Newsletters, and I've
posted it on TYPHOONMART, as well:

All of us at TEAM WORLDFEST wish you and yours a very Happy, Peaceful &
Bountiful New Year!

As our special New Years' gift to you - We are extending the Final
Entry Deadline to January 15th 2007! All Late Fees are Waived! Entries
must reach us by January 31st. This is a MAIL-BY Deadline only.

I'm so sorry to hear about your
tooth! Always remember that sucking on a whole clove will not only help numb
the pain but give you fresh kissable breath as well.

Try it.

Love ya, Linda May

Thanks, Linda May!
That was a new one on me. I knew clove oil was a major
component of toothache remedies, but sucking on a whole clove would never have
occurred to me. So I tried it right away, and guess what? You're
right! It works! Thanks again, Lady!

Found this while cleaning up around house. Might stir up a few memories for a
few of my classmates. Hope they come up OK on your end. Surprised I still have
this; have done a bit of moving since I got this....

Program is still in good shape even after all
this time; better shape than I am.

WOWZERONI-RINI!!!
What a treasure! Thanks, Colin!
I have them posted now:

Hope your new year is starting to get better now
after a less than optimum beginning.

Well,
actually,

as I mentioned to a dear friend yesterday, I'm not doing
too well. My mama used to tell me, "When you come to the end of your
rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

But I really seem to be losing
my grip on it now; I'm just not sure how much longer I can hang on this time.
I used to be so good at the "Stiff-Upper-Lip; Keep-Smiling-Through" thing, too.

I'll try not to let it show,
though. Thanks for asking!

Also hope you have not been washed away with this
rain lately. Beautiful 68 deg right now at 12 midnight. I love this unseasonable
weather.

Had a ball at our holiday dinner, first time I have seen folks since we got out
of school. Was very enjoyable.

That's super!
I love to hear of reunions - large and small!
Thanks again, Colin!

Colin Faison
Class of 58

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Brenda Amos Williams ('62) of VA -
01/06/06 - "Deaths":

Hi Carol,

Happy New Year to you and yours.

I have sad news for the new year already. On Dec. 31st one of our classmates,
Carol Cook Campbell('62 - of VA) lost her daughter Bettina S.
Landes, Her funeral was on January 5th. I have learned today that Pat
Merilic Duncan('62 - of VA) lost her dad yesterday, January 5th.
Would you mind putting this on your website? I have emailed all of the
classmates that I have email addresses for and informed them of this. There were
over 20 classmates that attended Carol's daughter visitation and services. It
was a very nice service, and Carol appreciated all her classmates for attending.

Sorry to open the new year with all this sad news. Guess that is what life is
all about sometimes.

Brenda Williams

"Be the change you wish to see in the world". -Ghandi
Friends are Angels who lift us to our feet when
our wings have trouble remembering how to fly